The Reformation

Change in the Catholic Church!

1.Weakening of the Catholic Church: The Breaking of Vows By the 1300s, many people

felt that the church had become corrupt.

Some priests, monks, and nuns broke their vows (solemn promises to God) not to marry or have children

Some church leaders behaved more like royalty than like humble servants of God.

2.Weakening of the Church: Buying Indulgences

An indulgence was a release from punishment for sins, in return for good works.

The church would sell indulgences to people to raise money, but only rich people were able to afford them.

People who received indulgences did not have to perform good deeds to make up for their sins and would spend less time in purgatory.

3.Weakening of the Church: Conflict with Rulers The church became

wealthy and powerful. King Philip IV tried to

tax the French clergy. When the Pope threatened to excommunicate him, King Philip had soldiers kidnap the Pope. Although they released him, the Pope died soon afterward.

4.Weakening of the Church: Two (or more!) Popes Pope Clement V moved headquarters from

Rome to the French city of Avignon, and the next 6 Popes lived there.

Pope Gregory XI moved the papacy back to Rome in 1377. When he died, the new Pope refused to move back to France.

French cardinals elected a rival Pope. There were now two Popes, and a third one was elected by a church council. Each claimed to be the true head of the church. This was the case for about 30 years.

5.Early Calls for Reform

John Wycliffe (~1330-1384): A British scholar who questioned the Pope’s authority and attacked indulgences & immoral behavior by the clergy.

Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536): A humanist priest from Holland who called for reform in the church. In 1509 he wrote The Praise of Folly which called for a return to simple Christian goodness.

6.Martin Luther

A German priest who disagreed with many Catholic beliefs, and was especially outraged by the selling of indulgences.

He felt that the church was selling false salvation to uneducated people.

7.Martin Luther

In response, Luther posted a list of 95 theses (arguments) against indulgences and church abuses on the church door in the town of Wittenberg. He also sent the list to church leaders.

Luther argued that the Bible – not the pope or church leaders – was the ultimate source of religious authority.

Luther was excommunicated in 1521, but then later started his own church called the Lutheran Church. Many people followed him because they were also unhappy with church practices.

He also translated the Bible into German. This is how the Protestant Reformation began.

8.Luther’s 95 Theses

9.John Calvin (1509-1564)

A French humanist who started a Protestant branch in Geneva, Switzerland.

He believed that salvation came only from God’s grace, and that God knew who would be saved even before people were born (predesdination).

There was nothing people could do to change their destiny. For example: success in business was a sign of God’s grace.

He influenced many other reformers who came after him.

10.The Puritans were Calvinists!

11.King Henry VIII (1491-1547)

In 1534, King Henry VIII formed the Church of England (Anglican Church) with himself as the leader.

He did this because the Catholic church would not allow him to divorce his wife and he was tired of paying taxes to the church.

15.William Tyndale (~1491-1536)

An English priest, scholar, and writer.

Tyndale translated the Bible into English. His translation was famed for its beautiful language and later became known as the King James version of the Bible.

Tyndale was burned at the stake for translating the Bible.

13.Weaknesses of the Catholic Church

The Catholic ChurchThe selling of

Indulgences

Two popes ruling at one time

Disagreements with rulers(kings)

Breaking of vows by clergy

14. Reformation Flow Chart

Catholic Church

Catholic Church Protestant Churches

Lutheranism(Martin Luther

Calvinism (John Calvin)

Anglicanism (King Henry VIII)

Martin Luther’s 95 Theses-started it all!

15. Counter-Reformation (Discussion, Debate, and Reform!)

A Catholic reform movement where church leaders worked to: correct abuses clarify and defend Catholic teachings Condemn Protestant errors Use missionaries to win back Protestants in Europe

and spread the Catholic religion to other parts of the world

The Council of Trent determined that faith, good works, and the sacraments were all necessary for salvation. The Latin Bible was still the only official Bible.

The church decided to no longer sell indulgences.

16.Religious Wars

Many wars were fought in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Civil wars in France between Catholics and Protestants left over a million people dead.

The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) in Germany was the last major war of the Reformation. The result was that European rulers could decide for themselves whether their countries would be Catholic or Protestant

Much of Northern Europe became Protestant

17.Christian Religions in Europe, ~1600

During the late Renaissance, Roman Catholic Church practices, such as the selling of indulgences:

1. A. Did not affect the church’s influence

2. B. Led the wealthy and influential to support the church

3. C. Weakened the church’s influence

4. D. Would be in accordance with sections of the Bible

According to the church, what was the connection between purgatory and indulgences?

1. A. Buying indulgences reduced the time spent in purgatory

2. B. Buying indulgences increased the time spent in purgatory

3. C. People in purgatory bought indulgences

4. D. The pope could buy indulgences to reduce time in purgatory

What was the main goal of Catholic missionaries after the Reformation?

1. A. To get rid of protestants in China and India

2. B. To train native people as soldiers

3. C. To teach both girls and boys

4. D. To convert people around the world to Catholicism

Which of Martin Luther’s ideas did the Catholic Church include in its reforms?

1. A. People should not do charity work the church

2. B. People should not give money the poor or ill

3. C. The church should not sell indulgences

4. D. Priests should not be involved in government or charity

Martin Luther challenged the traditional structure of the Catholic Church by arguing that

1. A. People did not need to follow the bible

2. B. The spiritually wise should be treated differently than people who couldn’t read

3. C. The church leaders should be governors

4. D. People did not need priests to interpret the Bible for themselves

Who wanted to translate the B ible into English?

1. A. King Henry VIII

2. B. William Tyndale

3. C. John Calvin

4. D. Desiderius Erasmus